Field
The present subject matter relates to an image pickup apparatus configured to convert an incident electromagnetic wave into an electric signal, an image pickup system, and a method of driving an image pickup apparatus.
Description of Related Art
An image pickup apparatus is known that includes a conversion unit configured to convert an incident electromagnetic wave into an electric signal. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-287879 discloses an example of such an image pickup apparatus in which an analog-to-digital conversion unit (hereinafter referred to as an ADC unit) is provided for each subarray including a plurality of conversion units each configured to generate an electric signal based on incident light. The ADC unit provided for each subarray sequentially converts signals output from the plurality of conversion units in the subarray into digital signals and outputs the resultant digital signals to the outside of the subarray.
In some cases, in a subarray, a signal based on an electric signal is processed by one of a first circuit and a second circuit, and the resultant signal is then processed by the other one of the first circuit and the second circuit. However, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2006-287879 does not disclose any technique to optimize the number of conversion units sharing the first circuit and the number of conversion units sharing the second circuit depending on a difference in operation period between the first circuit and the second circuit.